Many electronic devices or components employ a significant number of electrically conductive pins by which the devices are to be connected to a circuit. Due to the increasing number of pins employed in various electronic devices, such pins typically are rather small and delicate, thus being subject to bending or breaking under relatively light forces. One popular arrangement of such pins is a pin grid array (PGA), in which the pins extend from the bottom of the device and are arranged in a two-dimensional array. One particular example of a device employing a pin grid array is a processor board, which typically includes a computer processor integrated circuit (IC) mounted upon a small printed circuit board (PCB). The processor board may also include other peripheral components electronically connected to the processor. The processor board often includes an array of pins extending from the side of the board opposite the processor, allowing the processor board to be coupled to a motherboard by way of a socket, such as a zero-insertion-force (ZIF) socket.
To protect the pins both during delivery of the processor board and prior to installation of the processor board in a socket, a detachable plastic or metal cover may be attached to the processor board to cover the pins. In some cases, the cover is attached to a shroud surrounding the array of pins. Such a shroud is often designed to fit closely around the exterior of the socket to align the pins therewith, thus essentially guaranteeing a proper electrical connection between the processor board and the socket.